Francisco Javier Arana

Francisco Javier Arana (5 December 1905-18 July 1949) was a Major of the Guatemalan Army who was a member of the military junta that succeeded Jorge Ubico as President on 1 July 1944 and reigned until 20 October of that year. He was killed in a failed coup in 1949.

Biography
Francisco Javier Arana was born on 5 December 1905 to a mestizo family, and he had an intellectually curious mind to make up for his lack of a formal education. Arana was rather well-read, and he had a charismatic image; he was one of the men that Jorge Ubico chose to rule the country after he was deposed in July 1944 in the Guatemalan Revolution by a popular insurrection. Arana and the junta was deposed on 20 October 1944 by Juan Jose Arevalo's popular uprising, and he was unwilling to join any movement against Arevalo due to the support that he had among some Arevalo supporters. However, in 1949 Arana gained the support of the landed elite against Arevalo's reforms, and he threatened a coup if his rival Jacobo Arbenz Guzman's supporters were not expelled from the government. Arana was ambushed while leaving a meeting with Arevalo, with Arbenz's men killing Arana and two other men. Arana's death ended the possibility of a coup against Arevalo.